Family reunification visa refused in Tehran · No. 506586
Conseil d’État · 19 March 2026
A recognised refugee in France and his wife were living apart. The French consular authority in Tehran refused her long-stay visa. In urgent proceedings the timing became decisive. Had the couple really waited as long as the first judge thought before trying to reunite?
The difference between asking and registering
The file recorded steps to obtain an appointment before the visa application was formally registered. Treating registration as the start overlooked those earlier efforts. The Conseil d’État found that the long separation could not be attributed to the couple’s inaction. It also found serious doubt about the evidence for treating the application as fraudulent.
What the couple actually obtained
The Conseil d’État overturned the Nantes interim order, suspended the administrative appeal body’s implied rejection and ordered the interior minister to reconsider the wife’s application within one month of notification. The family gained a deadline and another decision. The judges did not issue the visa themselves.
What to preserve during a wait
Appointment requests, acknowledgements, passport issue dates and messages from the consulate can establish when a family first acted. These records may tell a different story from the date stamped on the completed application.
Read the Conseil d’État decision and its one-month order
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